Unloading mechanism for trucks



June 2, 1942. R WALL 2,284,853

UNLOADING MECHANISM FOR TRUCKS Filed Nov. 1, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l Snvenfor.

\* Faussn E. WQLL attorney 5 i June 2, 1942,

R. E. WALL UNLOADING MECHANISMFOF. TRUCKS 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed Nov. 1, 1940 Zhmentor; W Ru. Fi /14W I REUBEN E,

attorney 5 June 2, 1942. W

UNLO'ADING MECHANISM F012 TRUCKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. l, 1946 UN T AT y veyor can be operated the desired location. It is another object of this invention to provide be controlled cur.

beneath the delivery which is about even conveyor: however,one endof the second con- 1 conveyor.

Patented June 2, 1942 e Application November-1,1940;SerialNo; 363,879

, remiss. (01. 214-83) mounting.

This invention relates {to a vehicular unload ing truck: for materials such'as coal, crushed stone and "the like; and moreespeclallyto an improvement over myformer patent, No. 2,1075

682,01 February 8,- 1938.

It is an object of this invention to provide a motor truck, the body of which has an inclined rear wall with a gateway'therein, said body also having an unload )conveyor belt mounted in its bottom and t nating adjacent the lower edge r of the gateway. A second universally mounted conveyor having one end thereof disposed beneath the end of the first conveyor belt and the gateway comprises one of the elements of this invention. Such a construction permits a large percentage of the material in the back unloaded upon the secand conveyor by manipulating the gateway and of the truck bodyto be without placing the-first conveyor belt in op- I eration. Means arealso providedwhereby the secondconveyor belt can be operated independently oi the first one; therefore, when the material from the rear through the gateway by gravity, the second conto remove the material to portion of the truck is falling an unloading truck of the class described which: is adapted to be operatedby the power of the take-off unit of themotonand which has the motor controls for operating the conveyor belts located at thefrearof the truck body in proximity to the gateway. By havlngthe controls so located, the operator can selectively operate the conveyor belts while watching the new of material through the gatewayrtherefore, the delivcry of the material to the second conveyor can Itis another objectof this invention; to provide an unloading motor truck of the class clescribed in which the second universallymountend thereof cantilevered end or a the first conveyor.

ed conveyor has one The second conveyor is mounted at a point with theend of i the first veyor extends forwardly of the truck from this ymounting the conveyor intermediate its ends, one end of the conveyor belt can be more completely centered relative to the end of the ilrstconveyor and also relative to the openi g less of the might be upon the end of the second conveyor.

n Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of anunloadingtruck embodying my invention;

Figure 2 isan elevation taken along theiline 2-2.in Figure i,,showin"g the power take-oil mechanism associated with the transmission of thetruclt motor,"

c Figure 3 is a sectionalyiew taken alongthe line 3-5-3 in Figure 2; v f h Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line l4 in Figure 1, showing a gear reduction unit which is employed in the line of drive for v the delivery conveyor inthe bottom of the truck body; n n h t Figure 5 is" an enlargedlongitudinalscctional view taken along the line I-Hn Figure. 1;

Figure 6 is a plan hand central portion of plilgure 1, and along the line k6 in Figure 5'; n

Figure 7 is an elevationlooking being taken at the reverse side ofcthe right-hand central portion of Figure 5, said view being taken along the line the rear portiornof the truck body, and being taken alongf theline' klin Figure 5' so thatoverloading will'not ocalong the line Iklli in Figure '1, showing the: a

clutch pedal of theautomobile pointthereby making it possible to cantilever a portion of the second conveyor beneath the first ViceSDl' this type, it is the usual practice to place the universal mounting for the second conveyor substantially at the entire second conveyor on one. side of the In the conventional unloadi'ng "de-,

one end thereof, thereby placing Figure"! is a cross-sectional view taken along the'line 0+: in Figure};

Figure ion a verticalisectional detail view taken and the connecting link thereto whic truckbody y c ReferringT more particularly to the drawings, the numeral Ill denotes the wheels of a suitable motor truck which are mounted at each end of axles whichare disposed in an axle housing II'. The axle housing I I has mounted thereon conventional springs I: for (Figure Bl framework and extending upwardlyfrom the are inclined struts II, the upper ends or which support a hopper l6. This hopper has inclined side walls I 1 and an inclined end wall i 8; whereas, the front wall I9 is vertically disposed.

in the truck thereabove, so that regardposition to whichthe secondconveyor turned, thematerial will fall squarely taken in connection viewsi nilar tothe right- I Figures 1 avertical sectional view looking at extends to the rear of the supportingthe framework It 1 compartment can ,be delivered at one location and the material in the other compartment can be delivered to another location.

The trough 28 has rollers 80 and 3| disposed in the end thereof, said rollers being mounted upon shafts 32 and 83 respectively. Upon the rollers and 3| a suitable endless conveyor belt 34 is 'mounted. It will be seen that the material which is adapted to be placed in the compartment thereabove is supported by the removable members 2| to thereby relieve excessive-weightand friction upon the top layer of the belt 84.

By observing Figures 5 and '7, it is seen that the rear inclined wall I8 of the truck body has an right hand end'of the conveyor belt 34. This opening is adapted to be closed bya gate 4| which gate is mounted for sliding movement upon the rear inclined wall I8 of the truck. Pivotally secured to the plate 4| as at 42 is a link 43 said link having a lever 44 pivoted thereto as at 45.

I opening therein disposeddirectly above the Y The lever 44 is pivotedintermediate its ends as at 45 to the end wall. This lever has a lateralprojection 41 at' a point slightly removed from the pivot point 48 which projection engages an arouate rack 48, also secured to the rear wall I8. When it is desired to vary the size of the opening 40, it is only necessary to rotate the lever 44 to the desired position at which time the projection 41 and the rack 48 will hold the same in position.

-In order to insure that material such as coal, dust, dirt and the like will not accumulate upon rollers 80 and 3| suitable scrapers 50 have been located in close proximity thereto. .These scrapers serve to remove the material as it collects upon the periphery of the rollers.

' The roller shaft 82 (Figures 1 and 9) has rotatabl'y mounted on one endthereof, a sprocket wheel 55. Also mounted upon this shaft is ahub 58 having a peripheral groove 51 therein which is penetrated by pins 58, said pins being disposed in the lower free end of a forked member 58. The forked member has its upper end fixedly secured upon a shaft 00, said shaft 80 extending rearwardly of the truck to a location close to the opening 40. On.the end of this shaft (Figure 8) a suitable operating handle 88 is mounted. The member 58 is keyed for longitudinal sliding movement on the shaft 82 by'means of a suitable keyway 83. It will be noted that. member 58 has a toothed clutch face 64 which is adapted to engage clutch face 85 on the hub of sprocket 55. When it is desired to-place the conveyor belt 84 in operation, the lever 8| is rotated in a clockwise manner in Figure 8, thereby causing the clutch faces 64 and 85 to engage each other at which time, the shaft 32 and the roller 80 will be rotated by the pulleys 55.

Mounted upon the sprockets is a chain 88, said chain also being mounted upon a second sprocket 58 (see Figure 4). Sprocket 88 is fixedly secured on a shaft 10 which shaft has a worm gear II thereon meshing with a worm I2. The worm I2 is fixed upon a shaft I3 which in turn is engagement by the operators hand.

rotatably mounted in housing I4. Connected to the shaft I8 as at Ills a link I8, the other end of which is connected as at IT to shaft I8 (see Figures l and 3). The shaft I8 extends into power take-off housing I8 and has integral therewith a longitudinally grooved portion 80 within the housing upon which a gear 8| is slidably mounted. This gear is adapted to mesh with the driving gear 82 in the transmission of the truck.

In Figure 3, the gear 8| is shown in mesh-with drive gear 82, but it is necessary to provide means for shifting the gear 8| on the grooved portion 80 so that the conveyor belt can be operated or discontinued. A suitable forked member 84 is adapted to straddle the gear 8| which forked member is fixed on a shaft 85. This shaft is likewise slidably mounted in the power take-off housing I8 in parallel relation to the shaft I8 previously described. Connected to the right hand end of the shaft 85 as at 88 is a link 88 which link has .its other end pivoted as at 80 to a lever-8|, said lever having one end thereof pivoted as at 82 to the framework of the truck. The free end of the lever 8| has pivoted thereto as at 83, a link 84 said link 84 extending to the rear of the truck to a point near the opening 40. A suitable handle portion 85 is formed on the end of link 84 so that the operator can manipulate the gear shifting mechanism.

Before the gear 8| is shifted to engaged or disengaged position, it is necessary t'oiactuate the conventional clutch pedal of the automobile. This mechanism is likewise operable at the rear end of the trucknear the opening 40. The clutch pedal I00 (Figures 1 to 10) is pivoted as at IOI in a conventional manner. An extension I02 is provided on the lower portion of the clutch pedal to which is pivoted as at I03, the link I04, said link I04 extending to the rear of the truck and having an oval-shaped portion I05 formed thereon for When the mm m is pulled to the right in Figure 1, the clutch pedal I00 will be rotated in a counterclockwise manner in Figure 10, after which the members 84, 85, 88, 8|, 84 and 85 can be actuated to shift the gear 8| to disengaged or engaged position relative to driving gear 82.

By referring to Figures 1 and 4, it is seen that the shaft I3 also has connected thereto as at I I0 a supports I24, each of which has an open-ended slot I25 in the upper portion thereof (see Figures 3 link III, said link III having its other end connected as at II2 (see Figure 6) to a shaft II4. Shaft I I3 has aworm I I4 mounted thereon'meshing with a worm gear II5. This gear 5 is fixedly mounted on vertically disposed shaft H5 in housing 1. Also mounted on vertically disposed shaft IIIi is a worm I I8, which meshes with 7 worm gear II8 on horizontally disposed shaft ing I" previously described.

On each end of the housing I2| are suitable 5, 6 and 8) for the reception of hubs I26 and I28a. These hubs support the left-hand end of the second conveyor which is broadly designated by the reference character I21. It should be noted that the housings III and I2| can rotate about the vertical shaft IIIi-as an axis. The

,pivot hubs I26 and |28a permit rotation of the conveyor I2'I about a horizontal axis.

Therefore,

it is seen that the conveyor is mounted for universal movement upon the housings Ill and I20 using shaft II 6 and hubs I28 and I28a as pivots. The housing III is supported by a suitable cross The shaft I20 is rotatably mounted in 3 housing I2I which forms an integral part of hou's- I by framework ifl.

One end of the shaft in has a suitable gear- Ill fixedly mounted thereon. This gear is adapted to mesh with another gear I if (see Figure 8) which gearis rotatably mounted upon the supporting hub iii previously described, said gear Ill having integral therewith a sprocket I42 upon whichfiachain I43 is mounted. The chain I is also mounted upon another sprocket I on shafti". This shaft has fixedly mounted therei on a roller I upon which a conveyor belt Ill is mounted. The roller I and the shaft I. are rotatably mounted at the left hand end of trough Ill. r

rtistner roreseen that theroller m (Figure 5) is disposeda substantial distance to the left i of the supporting shaft I28 and to the left of i vertical shaft i it. In other words, the conveyor Ill-is mounted foruniversal movement at a point subz'stantially- ;-r'e'moved from the left hand end openingya conveyor disposedin said trough,the

thereoffwhi'ch point isjdisposed beneath the end i f of the first conveyor M: [and the opening thereby'permitting the end: of the trough mem-.

her I II to be ce'ntraily located beneaththe opening lflf'and. beneaththe end of the first con- .v'eyor-fl. at the left-hand end of the trough. lulu;

werenot' cantilevered a certain amount to the f leftflof "the" point of mounting '(Figure 5;) then the end of the trough would not remain centered beneaththe opening Msshoumtne conveyorlfl j be turned at s very pronouncedhorizontal angle to'the first .conveyoribeltfl; Also mounted in the trough llllat the end remote from the end in which roller I" ismountedis a secondshaft- I60, said shafthaving fixedly secured thereon a roller 18 I, uDOnjwhich the beltj'lll is also mounted.

In order to insure that the material which eating with one endof said trough, a closure passes through opening II will be directed upon the trough I50, a pair of plate members I62 have been provided on opposed sides of theopening; To these platesis pivoted an inverted U-shaped shieldor chute I" as at When theright hand end of the delivery conveyor I21 islraised to avery high elevation, the li shaped member i" can be raised to correspond to this position.

.lYhe second conveyor-I21 is equipped with a roller I" which serves to tighten the belt I 41 (see Figure 6). .Also the rollers I and "I are equipped with suitable scrapermembersil, previously described, which serve to prevent the accumulation of dirt, coal dust and the like upon these rollers. I

It is therefore seen that I have provided an improved-truck in which the coal or other material may be delivered to a universally mounted delivery conveyor without a likelihood of spilling or without overloading the delivery conveyor.

The overloading of the delivery conveyor is pre- I vented by virtue of having the means for independently driving the same and also by having the controls for theconveyors located in close ormaterial falls from the truclr'bo'dyq the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims. I v i Iclaim: f

1. In combination, a motordriven truck having a bedprovided with downwardly converging sideproximity to the opening through which the coal opening, a conveyor disposed in said trough, the

end of said conveyor terminating approximately at the lower forward end of said opening, a-second conveyor having one end thereof universally mounted beneath the rear end ofthe first conveyor and beneath said opening, and means for' driving said. conveyors.

2. In combination, a motor driven truer having,

a bed provided with downwardly converging sidewalls and a downwardly and forwardly converg ing rear wall, a trough extending longitudinally, of the bed and being disposed below the lower,

edges of said converging sidewalls, said rear wall having an opening therein communicating with one end of said trough, a closure member for said endof said conveyor terminating, approximately at the lower forward end of saidopening, a uni- 'versal fitting located substantially below the rear wall ofthe conveyor and beneath said opening, 9. second conveyor mounted at a point intermediate v itsv ends on' thefitting, one, end of said second conveyor being cantilevered beneath the rear end f v of the first conveyor, and means for driving said .30

conveyors.

3.111 combination, a motor driven truck having a bed provided with downwardly converging sidewalls and a downwardly and forwardlyconverging ,rear wall, a trough extending longitudinally of the bed and being disposed below the lower edges of said convergingsidewalls, said rear wall having anopening therein communi member for said opening, a conveyor disposed in said trough, the end of said conveyor terminating approximately at the lower forward end I of said opening, a second conveyor universally mounted intermediate its ends at a point immediately beneath the rear end of the first conveyor and beneath said opening, a driving connectionbetweensaid motor and the second coning a bed provided with downwardly converging sidewalls and a downwardly and forwardly convergingrear wall, a trough extending longitudinally of the bed and being disposed below the lower edges of said converging sidewalls, said' rear wall havingan opening therein communicating with one end of saidytrough, a closure member for said opening, a conveyor disposed in said trough, the end of said conveyor terminating approximately at the lower forward end of said opening, a universal fitting located be- ,low the rear end of theconveyor and beneath said opening, a second conveyor mounted at a point intermediate its ends on the fitting, one

end of said second conveyor being cantilevered beneath the rear end of the first conveyor, 9.

driving connection between said motor'and the second conveyor, 9. second driving connection branching from the first driving connection for walls and a downwardly and forwardly converg-' 7 operating the first conveyor, and a manually operable clutch in the second driving connection whereby the first conveyor can be rendered inactive while the second conveyor operates.

5. In combination, a motor driven truck having a bed provided with downwardly converging sidewalls and a downwardly and forwardly converging rear wall, a trough extending longitudinally of the bed and being disposed below the lower edges of said converging sidewalls, said rear wall having an opening therein communicating with one end of said trough, a closure member for said opening, a conveyor disposed in said trough, the end of said conveyor terminating approximately at the lower forward end of said opening, a second conveyor having a fitting universally mounted beneath the rear end of the first conveyor and beneath said opening,

means for driving both of said conveyors in unison, and means for rendering the first conveyor inactive while the second conveyor continues to operate.

6. In combination, a motor driven truck having a bed provided with downwardly converging sidewalls and a downwardly and forwardly converging rear wall, a trough extending longitudinally of the bed and being disposed below the lower edges of said converging side walls, said rear wall having an opening therein communicating with one end of said trough, a closure member for said opening, a conveyor disposed in said trough, the end of said conveyor terminating approximately at the lower forward end of said opening, a universal fitting located substantially below the rear end of the conveyor and beneath said opening, a second conveyor mounted at a point intermediate its ends on the fitting, one end of saidsecond conveyor being cantilevered beneathjthe rear end.

of the first conveyor, means for driving both of said conveyors in unison, and means for rendering the first conveyor inactive while the second conveyor continues to operate.

7. In combination, a motor driven truck having a bed provided with downwardly converging sidewalls and a downwardly and forwardly converging rearwall, a trough extending longitudinally of the bed and being disposed below,

the lower edges of said converging sidewalls, said rear wall having an opening therein communicating with one end of said trough, a closure member for said opening, a conveyor disposed in said trough, the end of said conveyor terminating approximately at the lower forward end of said opening, a second conveyor having one end thereof universally mounted beneath the rear end of the first conveyor, and beneath said opening, said motor having a clutch pedal and a transmission gear, a second gear engageable with said transmission gear, a driving connection between said second gear and said conveyors, means operable from the rear of the truck body at a point near said opening for operating a motor clutch pedal, and means operable from the rear of the truck at a point near said opening for shifting said second gear into and out of engagement with the transmission gear.

8. In combination, a motor driven truck having a bed provided with downwardly converging sidewalls and a downwardly and forwardly con-' verging rear wall, a trough extending longitudinally of the bed and being disposed below the lower edges of said converging sidewalls, said rear wall having an opening therein communicating with one end of said trough, a closure member for said opening, a conveyor disposed in said trough, the end of said conveyor terminating approximately at the lower forward end of said opening, a universal fitting located substantially below the rear wall of the conveyor and beneath said opening, a second conveyor mounted at a point intermediate its ends on the fitting, one end of said second conveyor being cantilevered beneath the rear end of the first conveyor, said motor having a clutch pedal and a transmission gear, a second gear engageable with said transmission gear, a driving connection between said second gear and said conveyors, means operable from the rear of the truck bodyat a point near said opening for operating the motor clutch pedal, and means operable from the rear of the truck at a point near said opening for shifting said second gear into and out of engagement with the transmission gear.

REUBEN E. WALL. 

